I’m not a big fan of the Superbowl or football in general, but I am a big fan of a super bowl of chili! I want to congratulate Gabriela Delworth and Maria D’Urso, the 2 winners of Longo’s Gift Cards for subscribing to the blog and sending in their favourite chili recipes. Actually, a big thank you to all who sent in recipes. I can’t wait to try them!
As promised, I have posted all the chili recipes (including my moms and my own which is just a version of my moms, tweaked to my own liking) at Meals Made Easy. Simply click on the Meals Made Easy logo to the right.
***Please note: these recipes have not been formerly tested by Longo’s.
Like Gabriela and Maria, for me the topping of shredded cheddar cheese is a must. I also add sour cream as Teresa suggests and serve with tortilla chips and that simply makes it great!
Now, a little bit of information on chili-making:
Chili con carne literally means “chili with meat”. So it follows that the main components of a good chili are first and foremost, the meat (beef, pork, chicken, or sausage). Following that, a spicy or non-spicy combination of sauces and spices completes this one-pot wonder. Simmering is a must to make a savoury chili. It’s a great dish to have cooking all day in the crockpot. Alternatively, simply cooking it on low on the stove for at least an hour seems to do the trick to get all the flavours to meld together.
Chili cooks don’t use packaged chili powders or mixes (did you read that mom?). Instead, they add ingredients like oregano, cumin, salt, garlic and real chili peppers separately. In my books, there is nothing wrong with using a packaged mix. The more convenient, the better! Also, chili cooks don’t just use water for cooking liquid…they like to use chicken or beef broth.
According to my research, there seems to be a debate over whether or not chili should include beans. “Real” Texas Chili has no beans. In chili cook-offs, beans are not allowed because according to a spokesperson for the International Chili Society (there really is such a thing!), “there are over 2,000 kinds of beans and if they were allowed, then it would become a bean competition”. Maybe we should consider that rule in our house because with the addition of beans it becomes a competition of the musical fruit LOL.
Now, let me tell you what happened the time I was reading some literature and then proceeded to go on a rampage to increase the amount of fiber in my family’s diet. The article suggested you bulk up dishes by adding things like lentils and bran buds, so I thought I’d start with chili.
The article went on to say that when adding fiber to dishes in this manner, to ease into it, do it slowly and gradually. Well, for me, it’s all or nothing…so I added lentils (in addition to the usual beans) as well as some bran buds for good measure. They actually disappear in the chili anyway and it’s a good way to reduce the meat but still “bulk up” the chili.
Well, it turned out to be good and tasty, but I might have forgotten to share the details of what was included in this new diet with my family. They are on a “need-to-know” basis. Let’s just say I’m not sure my husband knew what hit him LOL! I guess he needed to know. Live and learn.
Like many things with cooking, chili, in my opinion, is one of those dishes where “anything goes”. So be creative and throw in whatever you desire or play it safe and stick to a more traditional recipe. In any case, enjoy these chili recipes and if you are not serving tortilla chips on the side, a fresh Longo’s Artisan Baguette is a must!
Stay tuned for the following upcoming blogs: Longo’s Olympic Torch Bearers and a guest-blog by my husband on Valentine’s Day. This should be good!